Experiment 1369
by Cookie-rookie
Summary: AU. Hide is given a child to raise. A child that is apparently his and some ghoul's offspring. Except the baby is a tube baby that was created and saved from being an experiment. Now Hide is raising a half ghoul child all on his own.
1. Chapter 1

Experiment #1369

Main character(s): Hideyoshi Nagachika and orginal male character

Rating: T

Warnings: light shounen-ai and bromance. Mpreg without the actual mpreg.

Summary: AU. Hide is given a child to raise. A child that is apparently his and some ghoul's offspring. Except the baby is a tube baby that was created and saved from being an experiment. Now Hide is raising a half ghoul child all on his own. The only thing Hide wants to know is where to get the human meat without resorting to murder.

Disclaimer: Uh? The term fanfiction should explain everything.

/

Hide just stared dumbly at the elderly lady across from him. Being told you're a father is shocking, it's even more shocking when you know you're a virgin and the person telling you is somewhere in her fifties-

"His name is #1369" the granny spoke.

-and if the child happened to be an experiment rescued from a mad scientist's laboratory. Yeah, Hide was surprised he hasn't had a panic attack. Really, as if waking up to find a toddler with lightly colored blonde hair and dark eyes sitting on his chest wasn't enough of a surprise.

"Thank you for your time" the granny stood up and made to leave the apartment.

Hide felt his breath catch in his throat, "where are you going!?" Hide asked, his voice hysterical.

#1369 continued to stare dismally at a stuff bear in the corner, he almost blended in the white colored walls with his pale hair and white hospital clothes.

"Don't leave him with me!" Hide protested at the woman's back, "how am I supposed to feed him?!"

The woman grabbed her coat before gesturing to the cluster of brown packages she had dropped on the table.

"What happens when it runs out?" Hide placed himself between the door and the elderly woman, "why is he left with me?" _'And not his other DNA donor'_.

Looking slightly guilty, the woman avoided Hide's eyes. "His other DNA benefactor is not an option", the woman raised her head and stared determinedly at Hide, "ghouls are sentient beings, as a scientist I-" she swallowed "-cannot bring myself to experiment on something no older than my grandchild" she looked back at the toddler who was still sitting quietly and staring off brokenly into space.

Hide nodded in sympathy, Kaneki was a ghoul now and Hide still accepted him, even when Kaneki seemed determined to avoid him.

"For this child I have wronged" the woman looked older as she sighed, "I want him to be happy and live a life full of joys".

Hide still looked unconvinced.

"There is no guarantee that if #1369 was raised by his other DNA benefactor that he would respect humans". She finished and started to dig into her purse.

Hide felt slightly nervous as the old lady approached him.

"This is my entire study of ghouls and their behaviors" she held out a standard notebook full with notes sticking out of it. "Experiment #1369 does not let his kagune out often, even when feeding" she added at Hideyoshi's surprised look, "the only advice I can give you is to start him off by having him give thanks for his meals".

Hide took the notes and started to flip through them. "Humans live off of other beings too" he mumbled to himself.

The elderly woman smiled before bowing low, "please give him what I can't" she stood up straight before trying to move around Hide.

"Wait" Hide said as he moved with her, "you never answered what I should do after the food runs out" he gestured to his table.

She chuckled before pulling out a card from her pocket, "this man can help you when the time comes" Hide bowed slightly as he took the card, "but that food should last for the rest of the year" Hide eyes widen.

Hide bit his lips as he looked at the card, "I also have to work" he looked up at the old lady, "I don't have an endless supply of ghoul babysitters" he joked casually.

"He won't get into trouble when you are not around" she looked over to #1369 who hadn't moved from his spot.

Hide sighed heavily and brought a hand up to rub the back of his head, "fine" he said before he opened the front door for the woman.

She merely smiled at Hide and walked out of the apartment. "Nagachika Hideyoshi" she turned around to face the blonde, "thank you". With that the elderly woman strolled down the hallway.

Feeling as if he had been standing out in the sun for too long, Hide mumbled 'no problem' under his breath before softly closing the door. Turning around, Hide calmly took in the sight of his living room and dining room covered in various supplies needed for taking care of a toddler.

Gathering the brown packages, Hide opened the fridge and placed the packages in the back. Looking at the smallest package, Hide called out to the child. "Are you hungry?"

He was met with absolute silence. Placing the package back in the fridge, Hide stood up as he closed the fridge, "are you sad?" he asked as he approached the still sitting child.

The boy looked startled, "sad?" he asked quietly as he tried to avoid Hide's eyes.

"Yeah sad" Hide smiled and crouched down to see eye to eye with the experiment. "Haven't you been sad before?" he asked gently as the child shook his head quickly.

"No" #1369 whispered.

Hide smiled, "sad is what happens when-" Hide paused before chuckling to himself, "well it's hard to describe but one day you would feel this emotion". Holding out a hand to the toddler, Hide ruffled the experiments hair.

"Am I feeling sad now?" the boy asked as his cheeks flushed.

Hide made to stand up but was stopped by tiny hands quickly grabbing onto the hem of his shirt. Hide merely smiled, "what do you feel now?" he tilted his head in amusement.

"Weird" #1369 answered, "I feel warm-" the toddler let go of Hide's shirt and placed his hands over his chest, "-here". The young experiment looked up at Hide, "is this sad?"

Hide started giggling, "No, you are happy" he picked the child up.

"Happy?" the boy looked down at his chest. Snapping his head back up, #1369 had a look of amazement "I like happy!"

Crouching down to pick up a blue bag, Hide shuffled the child into one arm. "That's good #13-" Hide wrinkled his noise, "you need a name".

#1369 just looked at Hide with slightly dull eyes.

Hide ignored the lack of life in the boy's eyes and continued to walk around the room, picking up bags full of toddler clothes as he did. "Any ideas?" he placed the boy on the couch and opened up the bags.

#1369 just continued to look at Hide.

"Kouki" Hide smiled down at the child, "I like the name Kouki" #1369 blushed slightly.

"Kouki" the newly named Kouki muttered to himself before gazing up hesitantly at Hide. "Me Kouki" he stated quietly to Hideyoshi.

Hide nodded his head as he took out three shirts and pants from each bag. Frowning to himself, Hideyoshi selected three shirts and pants before putting the rest of the clothes back into their respective bags.

Kneeling to layout the three shirts and three pants, Hideyoshi gestured to the clothes laid out. "Kouki-chan" he smiled up at the toddler sitting on the couch, "what do you want to wear?"

Kouki eyes widen, "Kouki choose?" he asked in wonderment.

"Yes, Kouki-chan chooses" Hide laughed quietly as Kouki looked back and forth between the options.

Kouki pointed to a pair of yellow pants then a brown-white stripped shirt. "Those!" he shouted and bounced on the couch cushions. Kouki paused in the middle of his bouncing and looked terrified.

"What's wrong?" Hideyoshi asked worriedly.

Kouki tucked his chin close to his chest, "no box?" he asked quietly.

"No box" Hide smiled but wondered what Kouki meant by box.

Kouki smiled widely at Hideyoshi and Hide returned the smile with a wide grin.

Placing the other clothes back into the bags, Hide placed the clothes Kouki choose on the couch. "Now bath" he grinned as he slowly stood up.

"Bath?" Kouki asked.

Hide just smiled as he picked up the toddler. "It's fun, trust me" Hide winked at the toddler "you'll love the bubbles" Hide grinned as he started walking to the bathroom.

"Trust?" Kouki asked.

Hideyoshi hummed to himself, "trust is when you know someone won't hurt you" Kouki gained a more confused look.

Seeing Kouki pouting, Hideyoshi laughed before stopping in his walk to the bathroom. Suddenly holding Kouki upside down, the toddler broke into laughter as Hide tossed him up from the original position. Catching and throwing Kouki a few times, Hide stopped so that he could tickle the toddler's tummy.

Stopping the sudden tickle attack, Hide let Kouki catch his breath. "That was trust" Hide explained with a grin to the giggling Kouki, "you trusted me not to drop you" Hideyoshi further explained to the toddler.

Kouki nodded as he continued to giggle and Hide continued his walk to the bathroom.

/

Bath time was an interesting experience for both Kouki and Hideyoshi. To start with, Kouki did not want to even approach the tub while the water was still filling it up. It wasn't until Hide added bubbles to the water and promised Kouki he would join him that the little toddler approached the tub.

Turns out, the toddler was enraptured by the bubbles. So much that Hide had more trouble getting the child out of the bath than he did getting him in. It was only thanks to the water becoming cold that Kouki wanted to get out. His claim of 'he's not cold here' was both endearing and alarming to Hide, who resisted the urge to retrieve a thermometer.

Getting Kouki dressed was a whole other matter. It seemed that whatever shyness (or as the old lady called it, "PTSD" due to tests) Kouki had around Hide was gone. Kouki bounced and smiled during the entire process of getting the child dressed. Especially the socks, Hide had to read the manuals and advice books that the old lady left behind for raising a child. Finding his timer, Hide set it for two minutes and gave the watch to Kouki.

Taking the moment reprieve, Hide exhaled the breath he was holding and swiftly dressed Kouki.

"Now Kouki" spoke as he finished dressing the toddler, "which one do you want to wear?" Kouki's eye widen as Hide held up two pair of sneakers. One was a deep green with shoe laces, the other was a dark blue with yellow Velcro connecting at its sides.

Looking back and forth, Kouki bit his lips as he pointed to the green shoes.

"Don't worry!" Hide laughed as he placed the green shoes on Kouki's feet, "I'll teach you how to tie them!"

And Hide spent thirty minutes teaching Kouki how to tie his shoes until the toddler started fuming and yelling at the shoes. Stifling his laughter, Hideyoshi quickly retied the green shoes before scoping the toddler up. Grabbing his keys and wallet, Hide stuffed the items into his bag next to the hard "candy" for Kouki.

"Going?" Kouki asked as he gave a frustrated look down to his hanging feet.

"To play" Hide responded as he double checked the items in his bag, "you want to play right?" Hide as asked he opened the door to the apartment. Making sure the door was locked, Hide closed the door behind him before adjusting his hold on both the bag over his shoulders and Kouki. Noticing Kouki's look, Hide tried to get the young toddler to look him in the eye, "what's wrong?" he asked in a gentle voice.

Kouki just bit his lips hard enough for blood to come out.

"Kouki-chan" Hide smiled as the child turned his face away from Hide's. "Would you like to call me mommy?" he asked as he figured out why the child was frustrated.

Kouki turned his dark eyes to Hideyoshi in happiness. Nodding his head vigorously, Kouki gave a wide grin at Hide.

Hide returned the smile as he bounced Kouki in his arms lightly. "Let's go~" Hide sang the words as he and Kouki started to walk off towards the elevator.

/

Turns out, Kouki is a loner. Like a major loner, sometimes Hideyoshi felt that the young Kaneki would be more social than Kouki. Turning his head to watch his technical son build a sand castle, Hide wished that he had asked who the other 'parent' is. Hide didn't know if his son got his platinum blonde hair from him or his other 'parent', Hide also didn't know if Kouki's shyness came from genetics or being raised by a laboratory focused on test results. Humming to himself, Hide peered into the bag he packed for this trip and wondered what he would do for schooling Kouki. He could always make Kouki home-schooled but Hide wouldn't be home the entire time.

Sighing to himself, Hide wished that Kaneki would answers his texts or at least pick up the phone. Speaking of phone, an unknown number flashed across its screen as it began to ring. Keeping a good eye on Kouki, Hide answered the phone.

Listening to the phone call, Hide's eyes widen in surprise as the elderly woman from before told him that she deposited some money into his account as a present for Kouki. Apparently it was Kouki's birthday. Looking at his phone, Hide didn't notice Kouki getting up from his sand castle building to approach him.

"Mommy?" a tiny voice spoke and equally tiny hands grasped Hide's pants.

Hide jumped slightly in surprise. "What's wrong? Did you fall? Want me to kiss it better?" he asked.

"No" Kouki shook his head, "bad smell" the little noise scrunched up.

Hide sniffed the air, "I don't smell it" he smiled slightly as he ruffled Kouki's hair, "you want to go shopping?"

"Shopping?"

Hide grinned as Kouki tried to climb into his lap, "we're going to get you a toy~" he helped the boy up and nuzzled against the rosy cheeks.

Kouki only giggled in response as Hide laid a sloppy kiss on his cheeks.

"But first" Hide stood up with Kouki and slung his bag over his shoulder, "you haven't tried the swings!" and Hide marched over to the nearby swings for toddlers. Examining the diaper like formation of the swings, Kouki allowed himself to be placed in it. "Here we go!" Hide cheered as he started pushing the swing lightly from the front of it.

Kouki squealed loudly as he gripped the seat and ordered for 'mommy to go faster'.

Hide grinned as he swung the toddler with a little more effort so that Kouki was coming up to his chest.

The two smiled together as Kouki reached an appropriate height for his swing. Slowly using less effort, Hide allowed for the momentum of the swing to slow down by itself. Once it came to a stop, Kouki clapped his hands and demanded to be picked up.

Hide, of course, indulged the demands of the toddler. "Okay! Are you ready to go?" Hide asked as he carried Kouki past two mothers smiling at them.

Kouki merely cheered support for whatever his mommy had planned next.

/

Turns out, it's a universal fact that toddlers like toys. Doesn't matter if the child is half-ghoul like Kouki or ghoul or human; toddlers like playing make believe. Especially when it comes to puppets and puppet shows like the one being held right now.

Smiling as he watched Kouki cheer for 'Herakles', Hide let out an exhausted sigh as he leaned back into the chairs reserved for the parents. Turning his head to survey the room, Hide noted that many of the mothers where starting to fall asleep as their fatigue caught up to them.

Confirming all of the escape routes, Hide turned back as he watched Herakles battled against a dragon. The play was inaccurate, but Hide supposed that all plays for young children to be inaccurate. If the play was accurate, Hide doubts that any of the mothers here would allow their child to watch it. Hideyoshi probably wouldn't have allowed Kouki to watch if it was accurate. Yawning and slowly stretching as he stood, Hide smiled slightly at the multiple 'aww's were released from the crowd of children in front of the booth. Beckoning Kouki over, Hide knelt down with his arms wide as Kouki ran into them.

"How did you like the play?" he asked as he pressed a light kiss to Kouki's hair.

Kouki bounced in Hide's arms before he started to chatter about what happened in the play.

Hide waved goodbye at the other waking mothers as he walked away from the booth and to an aisle that contained age appropriate toys for Kouki. Waiting for Kouki to lose breath for his continuous chatter, Hide smiled as the toddler's words got faster and more unintelligible.

Finishing his story quickly, Kouki took a deep breath. Hide took this moment to let Kouki know he could go and pick his toy out.

Kouki's eyes widen as he realized where he and Hide where at. Leaning down to let him go, Hide kept track of Kouki as the toddler went back and forth in the aisle to check out the toys.

Picking up a rabbit that sang, Kouki brought it back to Hideyoshi.

"I want this one!" Kouki said as Hide leaned down to look at the rabbit, "please" he added as an afterthought, remembering the lessons Herakles went through.

Hide laughed in surprise at the politeness of Kouki, turns out the play wasn't absolutely useless after all. "Of course" Hide picked Kouki up and walked to the checkout area.

Holding the stuffed toy to his chest, Kouki muttered a 'thank you' to Hide.

/

The two didn't go immediately back to the apartment. Hide wanted to take Kouki to the music store and then Kouki wanted to visit the fishes that were on display in a pet shop located next to a mask store. According to Kouki, the mask store smelled and Hide wondered if Kouki was smelling ghouls or something else altogether. Making funny faces at the fishes, the manager of the pet store suggested that the two should go and take some pictures at a nearby photo booth for a memory.

Wondering what that was, Kouki asked his mommy only to have Hide smile before walking out of the shop and to the booth the manager had suggested. Of course, they almost ran into a tall purple haired man.

"Sorry" Hide bowed slightly at the stranger and Kouki just looked confused. The stranger had the exact same look as Kouki and both of their noses where flaring. "Kouki-chan" Hide bounced Kouki in his arms to get his attention, "what do you say when you hit someone?" he asked as Kouki's eyes went wide.

Kouki's noise wrinkled in distaste. "Sorry" Kouki mumbled as he stuck his head into the side Hide's neck.

"Kouki-chan" Hideyoshi tried to look at the toddler who was trying to disappear in his neck, giving the stranger another half bow, Hide stood up straight before walking over to the side of a shop so that the two were out of people's way. "What's wrong?" Kouki sniffled slightly.

"He smells bad" Kouki mumbled as he rubbed his nose against the warm neck "like the shop" Kouki gestured to the shop that the two were standing in front of.

Hide bit his lips as his guesses were proved right. "Would you like to go somewhere else?" he asked Kouki in a gentle voice.

Kouki shook his head up and down before shrugging, "I don't know".

Hide chuckled before stepping out onto the sidewalk again, "okay, how about we-" Hide looked around for something the two of them could do, "-go get some paint!" Hide cheered.

Kouki lifted his head out of Hide's neck, "paint?" he asked, his nose still flaring.

"Yeah", Hide started to rub Kouki's back, "we can paint your feelings" Hide grinned at the toddler in his arms, "then I can prepare your dinner" Kouki suddenly started hissing at something behind Hide's back.

"Go 'way" the toddler bared his teeth and Hide turned around to see the person Kouki was hissing at.

"Kouki-chan! That's rude!" Hide was only looking at Kouki before he gave a slight bow to the stranger, "I'm so sorr- Kaneki?" Hide cuts off in mid-sentence as he stares at his longtime friend. Ignoring Kouki's upset complaints, Hideyoshi steps forward as he curls a strand of white around his fingers. "What's with the hair? Is that what is popular with kids now?" he asked and turned his face to Kouki's. "You might as well match" he chuckled to himself as he moved his hands from Kaneki's hair to Kouki's.

Kouki pouted at Hide and crossed his arms. "No" he said with as much disgust a toddler could manage.

"Be nice" Hide tapped the tip of Kouki's nose, "he's my best friend and your soon to be babysitter!"

"Mommy" Kouki whined and Hide just smiled as he turned to face a shocked Kaneki.

The purple haired man stood beside Kaneki and looked back and forth between Kaneki and Kouki. Hide merely smiled at the man and Kaneki.

Kouki panicked slightly as he tried to think of ways to get out of the bad smell. Eyes going wide, Kouki tugged on Hide's sleeve for attention. "Mommy?"

"Yes?" Hide answered automatically.

Kouki pouted as he clutched his toy rabbit tighter to himself, "I'm hungry" he whined some more. This seemed to snap the miniature group out of its daze.

"Okay" Hideyoshi cheered slightly as he awkwardly handle Kouki and his bag. Grunting as he took the candy out, Hide struggled to unwrap it. Giving up, Hide crouched down as he placed Kouki on the ground. Freeing both hands, Hide was able to unwrap the candy. "Eyes closed~" Kouki closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide for the candy. Placing it there, Hide pulled his hand away as he threw the wrapper into his bag.

"Hide" a voice whispered and Hide looked up at Kaneki, "I-I- uh, I m-mean-"

"It's okay" Hide smiled at his childhood friend, gathering Kouki -who still had his eyes closed- Hide stood up slowly. "It's okay, I understand" for some reason Kaneki looked more guilty at that.

Coughing into his fist, the purple hair stranger bowed low and deep at Kouki and Hide. For a moment, Hide wished that Kouki could've seen the dramatic bow. "I am Tsukiyama Shuu" the newly announced Tsukiyama stood up from his dramatic bow, "would you care to join us for dinner?" he asked, and Hide didn't know if he should be terrified or laughing at his speech. Kouki swallowed his candy and opened his eyes to glare at Tsukiyama.

The toddler was stunned when he yawned in the middle of his stare down, Hide just started laughing. "We'll have to reschedule the dinner date" Kouki looked relieved until another yawn broke out of him, "but perhaps coffee? Kouki's going to fall asleep soon anyways" Hide grinned at the toddler.

Tsukiyama nodded his head at the idea and Kouki let his protest be heard. "No!" he screeched, "don't wanna!" he started kicking his feet wildly.

Wincing as a tiny foot slammed into the space between his ribs, Hide tried to talk Kouki down from his temper.

"You are really mad right now because we are going to drink coffee with them" Hide wheezed slightly and Kaneki offered to carry Hide's bag. "How about you introduce yourself and they introduce themselves so you get to know them" Hide smiled and handed Kaneki his shoulder bag. "You may start to like them" he reasoned with the toddler.

Kouki didn't want to listen but he silenced himself and looked at the two ghouls. "Kouki" he mumbled under his breath as an introduction. "I'm sorry" he then looked at Hide in remorse. Hide's smile never left his face and a little girl joined their group.

Tsukiyama Shuu introduced himself again with the same dramatic bow and Kouki unwillingly giggled. The little girl hid behind Kaneki and introduced herself as 'Fueguchi Hinami' in a tiny voice. Kaneki was the last to introduce himself.

Kouki was still pouting but Hide liked to believe the toddler's pouting was a little less fierce than before.

/

Turns out, Hideyoshi wasn't the only one that Kaneki had been avoiding judging on the shocked look on Touka-chan's face. As the group entered Anteiku, Kouki grumbled in annoyance as he scrunched his nose. Honestly, Hide felt good about himself due to all of his hunches being right so far. And he also felt good when the new Anteiku worker started to fawn over Kaneki. Though, it was disappointing finding out that Kaneki wasn't easily flustered by girls as he used to be.

As he waited for his order to be filled, Hide watched amusedly as a drama unfolded in front of him. Touka-chan had grabbed Kaneki into a hug which flustered the female temp worker and Tsukiyama. Letting go of Kaneki, Touka-chan growled lowly to the two before turning her attention to Hinami-chan. From what Hideyoshi was able to observe; Hinami-chan considers Touka-chan and Kaneki to be her older siblings, the female temp worker has a crush or hero worship on Kaneki, the same for Tsukiyama, Kaneki considers the group his friends with the exception of the new temp workers –Hide thinks that Kaneki never met the temp worker before today-, Touka-chan considers Kaneki a good friend and so does Kaneki. For some reason, Hide felt like he was watching a live soap opera in front of him.

Kouki yawned and mumbled something resembling 'quiet' into Hide's neck. Laughing quietly, Hide adjusted his hold on Kouki to make the toddler more comfortable.

"Your coffee" Yoshimura gave a reminiscent smile at Hideyoshi and Kouki.

Nodding, Hide reached for the coffee slowly as to not upset Kouki. "Thank you" he said in a whisper like voice.

The elder man nodded his head before he asked the group to quiet down, Kaneki accepted his coffee and talked quietly with Yoshimura before starting to approach Hide.

"Here, Hide" Kaneki sat across from Hide as he quietly place the bag next to Hide.

"Thanks" Hide smiled before waking Kouki up gently. "Wake up sleepy head" his voice filled with humor as his attention focused on the cranky, newly awoken toddler. "Aren't you hungry?" Hide asked as he dug for something in his bag. Balancing the bag and Kouki on his lap, Hide gave the curious Kaneki and Kouki a wink.

Kouki's eyes went wide and he made a grabbing motion in Hide's lap as an all-around blue Sippy-cup was brought out. Kaneki's eyes also went wide as his nostrils flared at the scent coming out of the cup.

Giving the cup to Kouki, Hide smiled as the toddler leaned back to sip lazy at the cup. Closing his eyes, Kouki kept on drinking from the cup as he felt his mommy's chest rumble slightly.

Keeping a steady hand on Kouki's back, Hide lifted his cup as he grinned across the table at Kaneki. "It's been a while" Kaneki flinched, "how is life treating you?"

Kaneki gave a small smile and responded as he brought the coffee cup to his lips. "It's been good, how are you?" Kaneki grinned steadily at Hide.

"I-" Kouki interrupted what Hide was going to say.

"Mommy" he talked around his cup, "I need pee-pee" this caused Hide to put his cup down immediately as he carried Kouki to the bathroom quickly.

Smiling as Hide walked away, Kaneki placed his chin on his hands before reaching over to retrieve the cup Kouki was using. Sniffing it, Kaneki nodded to the smiling Yoshimura. Placing the cup down and pushing it away, Kaneki almost released his kagune as the temp worker hugged him from the side crooning about his coolness and handsomeness. Kaneki tried to get her to go away before he heard the sound of a flushing toilet and water running.

Kaneki turned around to see a beaming Kouki and Hide come out. Tsukiyama and Hinami-chan were able to wrestle the female temp worker away from Kaneki. "Did you make it?" he asked Kouki who puffed up his chest in pride.

Making a universal sound for 'yes' in the back of his throat, Kouki tried to climb into the seat next to Kaneki as Kaneki congratulated him. Helping Kouki into the booth without actually helping him, because even though Kaneki only knew Kouki for about an hour he knew that the small toddler had pride, Kaneki praised the toddler again as Hide climbed into the seat across from them.

Moving the coffee cup away from him, Hide laid his head down on the table in exhaustion. Kaneki reached over and grabbed Kouki's cup and handed it to the toddler. "Are you okay?" he asked and Hide lazily waved off his concerns.

"It's been a really tiring day" Hide mumbled, not bothering to move his head.

Kouki choose this moment to speak up, "mommy, you didn't pick up a cook book!" Kouki swung his short legs in the seat as he reminded Hide of what they didn't get to do.

Hide groaned but picked his head up quickly, releasing a few choice words in English; Hide grabbed his cup and started to drink it.

Kaneki's eyes went wide as he watched the blonde drink something that was once referred to as 'drinks even the dead don't want' by Hide.

Bringing the empty cup down, Hide placed it on the table and picked up the bag full with supplies and Kouki's stuffed rabbit. Touka-chan quickly appeared in front of the table to pick up the cups as Hide stood up shakily.

Picking Kouki up, Kaneki stood up and walked to Hideyoshi. "I'll take this" and Kaneki took the bag from Hide "you need a break" Kaneki spoke as he held Kouki away from Hideyoshi.

"Nope!" Hide cheerfully responded as he held out his hands for the toddler transfer, "I'm good now!" Kaneki still didn't hand over Kouki nor the bag.

"I can hold them" Kaneki gestured to both Kouki and the shoulder bag. "I'm strong" he continued. "What is it that you need?" he asked his friend.

Hide gave a small smile "I just need to figure out how to cook the meat for Kouki".

Kaneki nodded, "I'll help" he gave a gaze that made everyone who was about to protest stop, "I need to talk to you" Kaneki stared hard at Touka-chan. Touka-chan stared at Kaneki too and looked away suddenly with a scowl on her face.

"That's nice" Hide nodded with a serious face, "I have something I want to talk with you about too" Hide continue to smile as Kouki started to whine about 'mommy carry'. Leaning into Kouki, Hide allowed the toddler to fist his shirt. Kaneki merely sighed in frustration as he shifted to give Kouki to Hide.

"Let me know if he starts to get heavy" Hide nodded at Kaneki's demand.

"I will" Hide turned to the entrance of Anteiku, "now let's go!" Hide cheered and Kouki joined him in the cheer. Kaneki ignored the whining Tsukiyama and the temp worker were giving but turned around to wave at Hanami as she wished him a safe trip and 'good luck'.

/

**A/N:**

**Mpreg without the actual mpreg! Science is beautiful, especially the science in TG. And no, Kouki's other DNA donor is not Touka-chan. It's a tossup between Ayato and Kaneki. That's the reason why I did not mention the eye color of Kouki. **

**Kouki has more clothes than three pair of pants and shirts. It's just easier to have a toddler chose from a small selection, trust me. Anyways, the timer trick works on younger children who want things to be over quickly, use it and give them the timer so they can watch the time go by. It helps teach them patience.**

**For those thinking that Hide is giving Kouki too much control… between the ages two and three, toddlers are beginning to recognize that they are separate individuals from their parents. This means that they are driven to assert themselves, to communicate their likes and dislikes, and to act independently. **

**Now, how did Hide know that Kouki wanted to call him mommy? Simple, normalcy or the act/feel of normalcy. I think Hide wouldn't really care if he's called mommy or daddy so he went with the word more associated with the care and love of children.**

**This takes place after the Aogiri Arc and before the Raid of Kanou's lab. I own up to all mistakes made. As per usual this is not edited and straight off the press because of my eagerness.**


	2. Chapter 2

Experiment #1369

Main character(s): Hideyoshi Nagachika and original male character

Rating: T

Warnings: light shounen-ai and bromance. Mpreg without the actual mpreg.

Summary: AU. Hide is given a child to raise. A child that is apparently his and some ghoul's offspring. Except the baby is a tube baby that was created and saved from being an experiment. Now Hide is raising a half ghoul child all on his own. The only thing Hide wants to know is where to get the human meat without resorting to murder.

Disclaimer: Uh? The term fanfiction should explain everything.

/

"Can you cook his food?" Hide asked immediately after he and Kaneki walked into the apartment.

Kaneki gave Hide a small smile as he placed Hide's shoulder bag onto a nearby stand. "I don't mind, are you putting him to bed?" Kaneki gestured at the sleeping child in Hide's arms.

"Nah" Hide waved the question off as he adjusted his arm to Kouki's weight, "actually, before you do anything, I need you to do something for me" the desperation in Hide's voice made Kaneki straighten his back even more.

"What is it?" Kaneki asked as he crowded into Hide's (and by default Kouki's) personal space. "Is someone bothering you? What do you need me to do? I'll help you no matter what!" Kaneki's voice got louder as he started ranting.

"Dude, chill" Hide chuckled as he motioned for Kaneki to follow him, "you used to be peaceful, not war hungry" Hide joked until he saw the serious face Kaneki was giving him. "It's okay, it's more of a job than a person" Hide gave his friend a smile.

Kaneki followed his friend to the spare bedroom of Hide's apartment, "doesn't matter" he grunted under his breath "I need to make it up to you" he whispered at Hide's back.

"Did you say something?" Hide turned around to face Kaneki.

Kaneki shook his head quickly, not wanting Hide to know what he said.

Hide shrugged before gesturing at the room's clutter, "I need you to do build Kouki-chan's bed and set up his dressers" Kaneki saw the bedframe and mattress in the corner and boxes with illustrations of dressers on them, "I would totally help but I need to toddler proof the living room". Hide gave a toothy smile and Kaneki nodded numbly.

"I'll get it done before five" Kaneki said, voice determined as he gazed at the items.

Hide adjusted his hold on Kouki again as the toddler began to slip out of his grip. "You do that, I have the tool box over there-" Hide nodded at a dark red box in the middle of the room, "if you need me I'm in the other room". Hideyoshi looked at the sleeping Kouki, "I don't think anything could wake him now so make as much noise needed" with that the dirty blonde turned on his heels and left the room.

/

It took about an hour for Kaneki to be done with building and arranging the toddler furniture. It was a hard hour though, three times Kaneki missed placed the directions for the dresser not that the directions were needed. The directions were made entirely up of pictures and Kaneki was actually thankful that he was a ghoul at this time. Turns out his kagune came in extremely helpful when multitasking.

During the first forty minutes, Kaneki had refused to use his kagune for help due to Hide being in the other room. After checking in on the blonde, Kaneki decided that he would use his kagune quickly. Because half ghoul or not, those picture only directions were getting on his nerves.

So, for the last twenty minutes Kaneki used his kagune to help him quickly build and organize the furniture. Hearing footsteps approaching, Kaneki quickly withdrew his kagune before the door opened up to reveal Kouki holding his Sippy cup and what looked like a sports bottle.

"Mommy said to give" Kouki said as he held out the sports bottle to Kaneki.

Kaneki gave a fond smile at the bottle as he took it from Kouki. "Thanks" he nodded his head with a too wide smile on his face.

Kouki nodded his head as he turned around and ran out of the room. Looking at the bottle given to him, Kaneki flipped the top open and sniffed at the contents. Eyes widening, Kaneki's kakugan appeared at the familiar scent. Hide had given Kaneki blood to drink, not animal blood but human blood. At this time, Kaneki felt like he was facing a dilemma that had no positive outcome.

If he drank it Hide would know that he was a ghoul, if he didn't Hideyoshi would feel bad. For some reason, the option of Hide feeling bad was more negative than the other option. Gulping slightly, Kaneki took a deep breath and prayed that Hide would not notice that the bottle had been drunk out of.

Except, footsteps sounded in the hall and the door flew open to reveal a disheveled Hide.

"Why is it still full" Hide asked and Kaneki felt guilty, "listen man" Hide brought a hand up to rub his head, "don't be shy, just go ahead and drink. I already know that you are a ghoul" Kaneki stiffened.

"No I'm not" Kaneki's mind kept on flashing to the threat that Touka made, "whatever you think, I am not a ghoul Hide" he said desperately.

Hide just laughed as he leaned against the doorframe. "Technically you're a half ghoul, but its okay to admit it" he grinned and the two heard small footsteps approach them, "Kouki is too".

Turning around to face the approaching figure, Kaneki felt his heart stop as Hide picked up Kouki. Kouki the toddler who happened to have only one kakugan.

"Hide wait!" Kaneki held out a hand as Hide brought Kouki close to his face to deliver Eskimo kisses.

Hide pulled away from the toddler slightly and gave Kaneki a look reminiscent to the ones mothers give their children. "Chill, I explain while you start cooking" Hide turned around to walk out of the room.

Kaneki stared numbly at the spot Hide was just in.

"You coming?!" Hide shouted from the other room.

Kaneki snapped out of his daze and walked out of the room, "I'm coming!" he shouted back and closed the door with a soft click.

/

Looking at the living room in amazement, Kaneki smiled slightly as he walked into the kitchen space. "You cleaned up quite a bit" Kaneki commented at Hide.

"Yeah" Hide snorted as he helped Kouki build a tower, "it was a pain but I was able to toddler proof everything" Hide waved a hand at the couch, various toddler chairs, and stands for lighting. "I even covered all the outlets" Hide made an exaggerated gasp as Kouki knocked his tower of blocks over.

"I can tell" Kaneki opened the fridge, "where is the-"

Hide interrupted, "-in the back and on the bottom shelf!" he shouted before Kaneki could complete his question.

Opening the fridge and picking up a familiar brown package, Kaneki sniffed at it before closing the fridge's door. "How did you get this?" he asked Hide.

"From the lady who gave me Kouki" Hide responded dully as he picked up a toy bear and made sounds with it.

Kaneki turned his head to Hide, "that's not normal" he commented, "People can't just give children away" he continued as he shut the door to the fridge.

"I know that" Hide snorted in the same voice he used for the toy bear, "Silly Kaneki, Kouki has my DNA!" he made the bear move as he explained it to Kaneki.

Kaneki's eyes narrowed in thought, it was possible for a human to give birth to a half ghoul child but impossible for a ghoul to give birth to a half ghoul. The ghoul's body always thought that the half child was food. "How?" Kaneki asked, eyeing Hide up and down as a thought came across his mind "you-"

Again, Hide cut Kaneki off "I am a mommy not a woman!" he cheered in that annoying voice that had Kaneki annoyed and Kouki cheering along, "science experiment!" the bear nodded its head.

"Science experiment?" Kaneki tried to suppress the shudder of what Kanou did to him, "what do you mean by experiment?" Kaneki put the package on the kitchen counter and approached Hide.

The bear was hoping around as Hide answered Kaneki's questions, "Kouki-chan wasn't born; he was created by mad scientists like Frankenstein!"

"Frank? What's that mommy?" Kouki asked, giving Kaneki sometime to think things over in his head.

"Frankenstein? He's a scientist" Hide grinned and moved the teddy bear over Kouki's head, "you'll know more when you're older".

Kouki pouted but said nothing in response as he climbed into Hide's lap.

"Was the scientist's name Kanou?" Kaneki asked with a low growl in his voice.

Hide shrugged and gave the teddy bear back to the reaching hands of Kouki. "Wouldn't know" he said in his normal voice, "one of the scientists went rouge and took Kouki-chan with her".

Kaneki nodded his head, "why you?"

"Half of his DNA is mine" Hide grabbed Kouki and fell on his back, "so he was left with his mommy" Hide started to tickle Kouki.

Kaneki frowned, "who is his other parent then?"

Hide shrugged again as he wrapped his arms around Kouki, "don't know" Hide sat up with Kouki, "that's where you come in" Hide grinned at Kaneki.

"Me?" Kaneki pointed at himself.

Hide nodded his head and allowed Kouki to climb over him. "Yeah, you can teach him stuff that I can't! Like how to control his kagune" Hide chirped.

"I'll try" Kouki tried to wrestle with Hide, "but isn't it dangerous to just accept a child like that? What if they know that Kouki is here and comes after him?" Kaneki sounded distressed and Kouki stopped moving suddenly.

Tears started to form in his eyes and Kouki's form started to also tremble. "No!" he screamed and both of the older males had to flinch at the volume, "mommy is mine! Can't take! Can't take!" he started to stomp his feet and his kakugan flared in his eye.

Hide casted Kaneki a look that obviously said 'you made the mess then you can clean it up'. Kaneki and Hide jumped in alarm as Kouki's kagune formed behind him.

"Mommy's mine!" two wing like appendages appeared behind the toddler.

Quickly appearing besides Hide, Kaneki picked the male up and deposited him in a faraway corner. "Kouki-kun" Kaneki knelt down in front of Kouki as he appeared suddenly before Kouki.

Kouki just stared distrusting at Kaneki, kakugan still active.

"No one is going to take Hide from you" 'or me' "I won't let that happen" Kaneki continued to talk Kouki down from his temper.

Taking a deep breath at Kaneki's prompting, Kouki's kakugan and kagune fade away. "Promise?" Kouki looked up at Kaneki.

"Promise" Kaneki smiled as he crouched down and stuck out his pinky.

Kouki just stared at the pinky.

"You hook your own pinky around mine" Kaneki chuckled, "it's how we make a promise" Kouki's eyes lit up and he hurriedly hooked his pinky around Kaneki's.

Hide started to laugh from his corner in the room and approached the two. "Do I get a say in this?" he asked jokingly.

"No" both Kaneki and Kouki answered at the same time. Hide just laughed at the two.

"I'm hungry" Kouki pouted at Hide who giggled and pointed a finger at Kaneki.

Patting the toddler on the head, Hide grinned "ask daddy" he said jokingly "because mommy has to fold clothes!"

Hide turned to collect the bags full of clothes lined up in the corner.

Kouki turned to face Kaneki. "Daddy I'm hungry" he said at the half ghoul.

Kaneki blushed and picked Kouki up before walking into the kitchen. "Do you want to help me?" he asked, blush still prominent on his cheeks.

Kouki nodded his head as he bounced in Kaneki's arms.

A "just don't burn my apartment down" rang from further inside the apartment.

/

Cooking the human meat was far easier than Kaneki had expected. Probably because Tsukiyama was such a food queen and taught Kaneki how to cook. Not forgetting about the other person in the house, Kaneki prepared what he hopes to be decent human food. Placing Kouki in the high chair, Kaneki called for Hide.

"The food is ready!" he looked into the cabinets and was pleasantly surprised to find plastic plates shaped like animals. "I didn't know that you bought toddler safety plates!" He called, "do you have any forks for toddlers?!"

Hide appeared besides Kaneki suddenly, making the ghoul jump slightly in surprise "I have some but are you seriously thinking about making a toddler eat with a fork?" Hide asked, voice filled with unreleased laughter.

"So" Kaneki said, "what if I am?"

"Then you can feed him, because I am not about to give him a bath" Hide snorted in amusement as he took a plate out for him and Kaneki.

Kaneki shrugged before dragging a chair over to where he place Kouki and Kouki's high chair.

Dishing out Kaneki's plate and Kouki's plate, Hide turned around to the two and carried the plates over.

"Thank you" Kaneki said as he placed a fork he had for Kouki and himself down, "your food is in the left pot" he took the plates from Hide.

"Thanks" Hide turns around to take out another plate, "I'm starving".

/

Placing the last tub-a-ware with Kouki's food away, Kaneki turned around to Hideyoshi who was rubbing the back of a tried Kouki.

"Is he asleep yet?" Kaneki asked with a low voice.

Hide turned to him and showed the nearly asleep Kouki to Kaneki. "Almost" he whispered back.

"Want to explain the situation some more?" Kaneki gestured to the couch where he and Hide could talk comfortably.

Hide nodded as he made his way over to the couch. "Where do you want to start?" he asked Kaneki.

"Just start from the beginning" Kaneki gave a gentle smile at both Hide and Kouki.

Listening with resolute attention, Kaneki nodded his head and bit his lip as Hide told how he met Kouki who was originally called #1369.

"I don't like this" Kaneki whispered to Hide, worried for the possible dangers his friend may face, "are you sure that you haven't a clue on who his other parent is?"

Hide smiled, "nah, don't really need the other parent if you're around" Kaneki blushed at Hide's blunt honesty, "besides, I think I make a good mommy".

"That's not the point" Kaneki whispered furiously, "you could get hurt because of him. I don't want you to be hurt".

Hide stared at Kaneki, "you left because you thought you would bring danger to me" it wasn't said as a question and more like a fact, "that doesn't work Kaneki" Hide brought a hand up to Kaneki's shoulder, "you hurt me by living and cutting contact, what if we never met today and I was stuck doing this by myself?" Kaneki flinched at the thought, "I would be lost and desperate to feed Kouki-chan".

"I still don't like the possibilities" Kaneki said stubbornly and Hide gave a quiet laugh.

Hide leaned his head on Kaneki's shoulder. "Then stay and protect us" Hide whispered and Kaneki closed his eyes shut tightly, "protect me" and Kaneki wanted to protect his most important person of most.

"So do you not want know who Kouki-kun's father is?"

"I do want to know" Hide whispered as he ran his fingers through Kouki's short hair, "kouki-chan may want to know when he's older".

Kaneki nodded to Hide, "I'll find out more information".

"Thanks, Kaneki" Hide hummed quietly "I appreciate it".

The two sat in silence as Kouki's breath evened out.

"Can you stay the night?" Hide asked as he stood up gently.

Kaneki stood up with Hide and offers to put Kouki to bed. "I plan to" he smiled and Hide flushed while he transferred Kouki over to Kaneki's arms.

"Who knew that you could be so dominate" Hide grinned smugly at Kaneki.

Kaneki flushed brightly, "I-I-I d-didn't mean…" Kaneki bowed his head and adjusted Kouki in his arms.

"It's okay" Hide cheered, "we need a big strong ghoul to protect us" he fluttered his eyelashes in a blatant mocking manner.

Kaneki was quiet for a moment before lifting his head up to stare at Hide. "I will always protect you" he said this like a fact.

Hide blushed before coughing into his hands lightly, "let's get Kouki-chan to bed" his ears turned red.

"Okay" Kaneki smiled at Hide before walking to Kouki's new bedroom.

Hide grinned as he followed Kaneki, "you should've bought me dinner first" he sang lowly as he leaned against the door frame.

"What are you talking about?" Kaneki asked while he carefully placed Kouki into his crib.

Hide just grinned at Kaneki as the white haired male turned around to face him. "Put his night light and monitor on" he said seriously.

Kaneki nodded and did just that. Completing his tasks as quietly as he could, Kaneki turned around to face Hide. "What were you saying?" he walked over to Hide, "didn't I make you dinner?"

Hide giggled in response as he and Kaneki exited the room. "Yeah, you're going to be sleeping with me" Kaneki stopped in his walk as he gaped at Hide.

"What?!" Kaneki's voice became shrilly.

Hide turned around to face Kaneki. "I'm not going to make my baby daddy sleep on the couch" Hide broke down into laughter at Kaneki's face, "dude, I'm joking! Think of it like a sleep over we used to do when we were younger!" he giggled some more.

"O-Oh" Kaneki started a fast pace to Hide's room.

"Kaneki? Kaneki?! Wait up!" Hide whined as he walked behind Kaneki, "don't be a grump! Kaneki!"

/

Hide woke up to the smell of food, or specifically the burning smell of what he thinks to be bacon. Sitting up abruptly, Hide rubbed his eyes as he stared at the small lump underneath the covers. Picking up the blanket, Hide peeked underneath the covers. Holding back his laughter, Hide gently put the blankets down again and slipped off the bed.

Yawning and scratching his head, Hide strolled out of his bedroom and to the kitchen. Giving a wolf whistle, he grinned as Kaneki turned around to face him. "Morning" he grinned at Kaneki, "are you sure you know what you're doing?" Hide asked as the pan fill of bacon caught on fire.

"Yes" Kaneki frowned as he removed the pan from the stove top.

Hide snorted in disbelief, "I could've just had cereal".

"No" Kaneki wrinkled his nose as he transferred the burnt bacon to a plate. "Kouki and I are having cereal, you are getting bacon",

Hide laughed, "You mean burnt bacon? And cereal? I hope you're not planning to make by baby stomach human food" he gave a wide smile at Kaneki.

"Its cereal for ghouls" Kaneki defended as he placed Hide's plate onto the counter.

"Okay" Hide nodded as he dug for a fork and spoon in the drawers. Closing it with a bump from his hips, Hide's eyes widen in surprise. "Did you child proof my kitchen?" Hide handed the spoon to Kaneki.

"And your bathroom. I installed a child lock on all the cupboards" Kaneki sat down at Hide's kitchen table with a bowl.

Hide notes that Kaneki was hiding the contents from him, "thanks" he said around a peace of bacon.

The two ate in companionable silence.

Hearing small footsteps approach them, both Kaneki and Hide turned to face the barefoot Kouki. Stuffing his cheeks with the rest of his bacon, Hide kneeled down in anticipation as Kouki walks over to him.

"Mommy?" Kouki climbed into Hide's arms.

"Good morning Kouki-chan" Hide placed a kiss into Kouki's hair as he stood up and walked to the stove top.

Kaneki stood up and rushed over to Hide and Kouki. "Let me feed him" he said as he prevented Hide from opening the pot for the ghouls.

"Kaneki" Hide gave the other male a look "I know that you and Kouki are ghouls, I accept that. Accepting that means that I have to accept that you two eat humans" Hide stated.

Kaneki gulped at Hide's intense stare "I know but its different when you see it" he took Kouki out of Hide's arms "trust me on this".

Hide huffed but let the subject drop as Kaneki served some food into a child bowl for Kouki.

"Hey Kaneki" Hide looked as Kaneki placed Kouki into his high chair "how are you going to find Kouki's other parent?" he asked.

Kaneki looked up at Hide "I have my ways" he stated before picking up a spoon to feed Kouki.

Kouki pouts but opens his mouth up anyways. After chewing his food, Kouki shakes his head as Kaneki brings up another spoon to Kouki's mouth. "No!" he whined loudly, "me do!" he tried to grab the spoon and Kaneki turned questioningly to Hide.

"Just give him the spoon, he needs a morning bath anyways" Hide nodded as he gave his okay.

Giving Kouki the spoon, Kaneki watched the toddler carefully before turning back to Hide. "I could give him a bath after he eats" he offered.

"You would officially be an angel if you do that" Hide grinned as he leaned into his chair.

Kaneki blushed and turned back to watching Kouki eat his food with a messy vigor.

"What do I do when Kouki's food supply runs out?" Hide asked as he fondly watched Kouki eat.

Kaneki looked at Hide, "I'll help" he said with determination.

"You're not going to kill someone?" Hide asked dully, "not that I really care, but the lady who gave me Kouki handed me a contact card" he got up to retrieve a card on the fridge.

Kaneki shook his head, "don't worry" he said.

"Yomo Renji" Kaneki's eyes widen at the familiar name, "she told me to contact him when Kouki ran out of food" Hide handed Kaneki the card. "Do you know him?" Hide asked as he observed Kaneki's reactions to the name and card.

Kaneki nodded his head as he accepted the contact card, "I know him" Kaneki handed the card back to Hideyoshi, "that information is correct" he smiled at Hide.

Kouki burps loudly and announces that he is full. Picking the toddler up, Kaneki handed the licked clean plates to Hideyoshi. "I'll give him a bath now" and with that Kaneki left the room carrying Kouki.

"He likes bubbles!" Hide shouted after the two.

Smiling to himself, Hide started to wash the used dishes.

/

Apparently, Kaneki's kagune wasn't only useful in battling and building furniture but also giving bath to toddlers. So when Kaneki exited the bathroom perfectly dry, Hide just gaped and pointed a finger at him.

"How did you escape!?" he questioned loudly, watching as a smug Kaneki was followed by an angry looking Kouki, "you're not even wet!" Kouki pouted at Hide.

"Mommy" Kouki whined and held out his arms to be dried. Kaneki tossed Hide a towel with the images of ducks on it.

Hide grunts as he catches the towel and dries Kouki off. "Thank- where are you going?" Hide asks as Kaneki walked over to the entrance of the apartment and opened the door.

"I'm going to collect some information" Kaneki stated as he picked up the spare key from under the front door's mat. "I'm taking your spare" he told Hide, not bothering to turn around.

Hide wrapped Kouki with the towel and ran to the door, "do you want us to go with you?" he asked.

"No!" Kaneki yelled, "No, it's safer if you just stay home and take care of Kouki-kun" he stated and glared at Hide, "I want to protect you".

"Okay, but I do need to go shopping for Kouki-chan" Hide rubbed a hand on Kouki's towel covered back. "Have a safe trip, okay?"

Hide nodded and gave Kouki a kiss on the forehead and Hide a hug. "Remember to lock the door and travel only to crowded areas" with that Kaneki waved as he exited the apartment closing the door behind him with a click.

Looking up at Hide, Kouki bit his lips as he tugged the pajama shirt that the blonde still wore. "Mommy?" Kouki dug his face into Hide's shirt, "can we go to the playground?"

"Sure" Hide respond in a bright voice. Walking over to the TV, Hide took the remote and turned it on "let's find out the weather!"

Kouki looked confused, "what's weather?" he asked, a lisp effecting his pronunciation.

"You know what cold and hot is?" Kouki nodded his head "weather is hot and cold and rain and snow" Hide tried explaining it to the toddler that never experienced it before.

"What's snow?" Kouki asked.

"Something you will like when it happens" Hide smiled at Kouki before pointing at the screen. "See, here they show rain" Hide gestured at the umbrella and the water hitting it "-remember when the bath was filled with water?" he asked.

Kouki nodded his head.

"Then rain is like the tub when it was starting to fill up", Kouki looked horrified, "don't worry, you'll like it when you jump into puddles!" pointing dramatically to Kouki's room Hide starts to walk, "now to get dressed!" he cheered.

Once entering the room, Hide places Kouki in his crib and grabs two pants and shirts from Kouki's dresser. "What do you want to wear?" Hide asked as he showed Kouki the clothes.

"Yellow like mommy's hair!" Kouki cheered as he pointed at the dark yellow sweater.

Hide laid the yellow shirt down on the dresser, "what about the pants?" he asked as he held up the pants to Kouki.

"That" Kouki bit his lips and pointed at the white pants. Grinning as he laid the white pant besides the yellow shirt, Hide made a mental note to pick up bleach on their outing.

"Okay!" Hide clapped his hands and placed the not chosen clothes back into their dressers. Turning around to face Kouki, Hide picked the toddler up along with the toddler's clothing and underwear. "Do you want to dress yourself?" he asked as he walked out of the room and into his.

Kouki nodded his head as he was placed on the floor besides the bed.

Giving Kouki the clothing, Hide kept an eye on the toddler as he started to get dressed too.

Fully dressed, Hide turned around to face the entangled Kouki. "Your head goes here" Hide helped the toddler detangle from the sweater. Holding the sweater up Hide motioned for Kouki to raise his arms. "The small holes are for the arms" Hide explained as he fitted Kouki's arms into the sweater, "and the big hole is for your head" Kouki's head popped through the bigger hole, "and now you're done!" he clapped his hands as he cheered for Kouki.

Kouki smiled widely at Hide and demanded to be picked up. "Red?" he asked as Hide carried him over to the door.

"Nope, you gotta have a boot if you want to jump in puddles!" Kouki pouted but allowed Hide to place rubber blue boots. "Now we got to put on a jacket!" Hide placed Kouki on the ground as he retrieved a matching set of orange raincoats. Handing the tiny raincoat to Kouki, Hide lowly pulled it on. "You think you could put it on by yourself?"

Kouki puffed up his chest and put the coat on slowly, miming Hide's motions before. "There!" he cheered.

"Good job!" Hide cheered along with Kouki. Pulling a dark violet umbrella out Hide picked up his shoulder bag and swung it over his right shoulder. "Do you want to be carried?" He asked as he opened the front door.

Kouki shook his head and Hide patted the toddler's head. "Then let's go!" Hide locked the door before he closed it behind him.

/

By the time the two exited the apartment, it was already raining. Raining and thundering to be specific. At the first sound of thunder, Kouki had gripped Hide's pants in fear. Then the second sound of thunder happened causing Kouki to start crying and Hide had to pick the toddler up. Spending five minutes calming the crying Kouki down, Hide had adjusted his hold and the umbrella and continued to walk.

In the middle of the walk, Kouki had gotten used to the sound of thunder and demanded to be placed down. Placing Kouki on the ground Hide just grinned at the young boy.

"I don't mind carrying you" Hide commented as he looked at the pouting Kouki.

Stomping his feet, Kouki growled "I protect mommy!" he shouted.

"Protect me?" Hide frowned as he crouched down to stare at Kouki, "why do you have to protect me?"

Crossing his arms Kouki stared at Hide seriously, or as serious a toddler could look. "Daddy said so".

"Daddy?" Hide's eyes widen and he flushed at the implication of Kouki's naming, "you mean Kaneki?" his voice broke into a high pitch at the 'e' in Kaneki.

Kouki nodded his head and Hide's blush spread to his neck and ears.

Coughing into his fist, Hide stood up and held out a hand for Kouki to hold. "I would feel better if you held my hand" Hide noticed the Kouki looked conflicted, "you could keep me safer if you hold my hand" he said instead.

At that, Kouki quickly grabbed Hide's hand and the two were walking down the road again.

"Mommy?" Hide looked down to notice that Kouki staring at the playground they were at yesterday, "he smells weird" Kouki pointed at a dark figure sitting on the swing set.

Hide quickly forced Kouki's pointing hand down, "it's rude to point" he smiled at Kouki. Turning to the probably soaked figure, Hide shouted at the figure. "Do you need an umbrella?!" he asked and Kouki tightened his grip on Hide's hand.

"Mommy" Kouki whined and Hide looked down at him.

"What if they need help?" Hide tilted his head before turning back to look at the swing set, "huh? Well I guess they didn't need an umbrella" he said to himself, a thoughtful expression on his face.

For some reason, Hide felt that the figure that disappeared was important.

Kouki tugged at Hide's hand and the two resumed their walk.

/

Making their way to tall grey building, Kouki tilted his head as he observed the building and the sign above it. The sign was colorful; it had bright blocks on it and a cartoon figure of a rocket. Staring at the sign and building for a moment, Kouki turned his head to look up at Hide.

"Mommy?" he asked, confused at why they stopped in front of this building.

Hide smiled as he crouched slightly to stare into Kouki's eyes. "Since it's raining we can't play outside" he chirped at his son's horrified look, "then we go somewhere else to play!"

Kouki doesn't look convinced or amused.

"Just try it out" Hide continued to smile at Kouki, "try it for me."

Kouki pouted but allowed himself to be herded into the doors of the building.

The building was an interactive children museum; it offered a collection of interactive exhibits and the most interesting –according to Kouki- was the space interaction. Watching as Kouki ran around in a miniature astronaut suit, Hide smiled as the toddler tried to surprise him.

"Mommy!" Kouki called at Hide, "look!" he spun as he tried to show off the outfit.

"You look so handsome!" Hide complimented as the toddler stopped spinning. "Kouki-chan? Are you okay?" Hide asked in worry as the toddler tried to walk to him but walked into a wall. Wincing in sympathy, Hide stood up and approached the dizzy toddler. "You shouldn't spin so much, you can get dizzy" he smiled as he reached out and placed a hand on the toddler's shoulder.

Kouki just groaned and raised his arms to be picked up. "Feel bad" he complained to Hide, "feel bad, mommy" he buried his head into Hide's neck.

"Do you want to go home?" Hide asked as he cradled Kouki's head.

Kouki nodded his head and was placed down onto the ground.

Taking the costume off by one piece at a time, Hide sighed as the zipper in the back of the outfit became stuck. Licking his lips, Hide bit his tongue as he used more force to coax the zipper down. Crooning in delight, Hide picked up Kouki and stood. Handing the outfit to the staff of the space area, Hide was about to exit the center until something was held out to him.

"What's this?" he asked the attendant in an astronaut costume.

The attendant smiled as she spoke, "this is the complimentary movie and story book given to all of the customers!" she cheered, smile still painfully bright.

Returning the woman's smile, Hide bowed slightly as he took the handouts. "Can you hold him for a moment" Hide offered Kouki to the woman as he struggled to put the DVD and book into his shoulder bag.

Smiling, the woman took the hissing Kouki for a moment to allow Hide to put the items away.

Zipping his bag up, Hide took Kouki back from the distressed looking woman. Looking relieved to have the child out of her arms, the attendant opened the door to allow the two males to exit the space area.

"Come back soon" she gave a shaking smile at the back of the two.

Hide waved at the woman and Kouki went back to burying his face into Hide's neck.

"Excuse me" Hide turned around to face a sharply dressed man holding a suit case.

Looking the stranger up and down, Hide shuffled Kouki to a more comfortable position, "can I help you?" Hideyoshi asked.

"This area has been made restricted by the CCG" the man showed Hide his badge. "Please go take your son and go home immediately, there has been a sighting of a violent group of ghouls in this area". Takizawa Seidou whispered to Hideyoshi before entering the museum to warn the staff.

Looking up at the sky, Hide started the walk back to his apartment.

"Mommy?" Kouki asked, voice muffled as his head was still in the nook of Hide's neck.

"What is it?" Hide stopped at a stop light, "we're taking a detour home" Hide said stiffly, feeling eyes on him, "I need to get some bleach and crayons from the store".

"Crayons?" Kouki's voice was still muffled.

Hide hummed as he walked down a nearly empty street, "you use crayons to draw and color stuff".

Kouki nodded his head, "mommy?"

"Yeah?" Hide answered as he took a right turn.

Kouki took his head out of Hide's neck, "ghouls bad?" he asked in a quiet voice that reminded Hide of what Kouki used to be like a day before.

"No, all ghouls are not bad just as all humans are not good" Hide explained to Kouki, "I like you and you're a ghoul and human" Hide said as he nuzzled Kouki's hair.

"Like me?" Kouki asked as he leaned into Hide.

"Of course" Hide cheered, stopping his walk as he waited for the walk signal, "I love Kouki-chan!"

Kouki started giggling as Hide pressed more kisses into his hair. "Mommy!" he squealed loudly.

Hide just place a sloppy kiss on Kouki's cheek before he started to walk across the street. Once across the street, Hide and Kouki were approached by a familiar stranger.

"Mommy!" Kouki hissed quietly in Hide's ear. "It's the smell from the playground" Kouki tightened his hold on Hide's jacket.

Hide stared harder as the other male approached them. "Can I help you?" he asked, distrust clear in his voice.

"No" the male responded as he stared at Kouki. Turning on his heels, the wind blew down his hood to reveal blue hair.

Watching the stranger leave, Hide placed a hand on Kouki's head. "Turn your eyes back to normal" Hide didn't even need to look at Kouki to know that the toddler released hi kakugan, "I don't want the CCG to notice it".

"Ghoul" Kouki said as he pointed to the direction the figure was walking.

"Eyes" Hide responded turning his head to look at Kouki.

Kouki's eyes returned to normal. "Know ghoul?" he asked as he buried his face into Hide's neck.

"Mommy knows everything" Hide responded.

Kouki took his head out of Hide's neck with a gasp, "knows?" Hide nodded at the question and Kouki's eyes glazed over in worship.

Looking back in the direction the stranger took, Hide resisted the urge to follow the man.

/

Continuing their walk, Hide started to giggle as Kouki sleepily moved his head.

"That tickles" he whispered to himself, only pausing as he passed by a shop entitled 'HySy ArtMask'.

Kouki's nose wrinkled and he started to fidget in Hide's arms. "Mommy" he hissed as he lifted his head up.

"Not sleepy anymore?" Hide asked Kouki as the toddler whipped his head around to survey the area.

"Kouki? Hide?" a familiar voice called out as footsteps approached the two.

Turning around, Hide was faced with a disheveled Kaneki, "why are your clothes torn?" he asked as he looked at a bad cut on Kaneki's shoulder. "Let's go home" he grabbed Kaneki's wrist, "I have a first aid kit there" Hide tugged on Kaneki's wrist.

"No!" Kaneki roared and Hide reflexively released Kaneki's wrist, "you need to get out of here!" Kaneki's hands came to clamp down on Hide's shoulders.

"But-" Hide was cut off by a hand covering his mouth.

Curling his arm around Hide's waist, Kaneki picked up the blonde and jumped away quickly as the building behind them collapsed. Taking his hand off of Hide's mouth, Kaneki checked Hide's body, searching for any possible injuries that the blonde may have acquired.

Hide opened his mouth, prepared to comment on the man-handling he just experienced.

"Hide listen" Kaneki cut the blonde off again, "I need you to take Kouki and go back" he stared desperately at Hide.

Hide bit his lip, "then come with us-"

"No" Kaneki gave a smile that scared Hide, it was a smile that Hide had never seen before on Kaneki's face. "I need to protect you" Kaneki spoke lowly as he took Hide's free hand and cradled it, "you're important to me" his kakugan activated. "I won't let anyone hurt you" he promised, voice gaining an edge that Hide never knew about. "Kouki-kun" Kaneki turned his attention to Kouki, "you are a big boy" Kouki nodded his head and puffed up his chest. "You are responsible for taking care of Hide" Kaneki's eyes glinted, "don't let anything happen to him".

Kouki nodded and activated his kakugan, "mommy is mine" Kouki growled as another explosion was heard.

"Good" Kaneki nodded his head, "now get Hide out of here" with that Kaneki jumped in the direction where the explosion was heard.

"When did you become cool" Hide whispered to himself in a daze as he watched his friend jump away.

Taking a step in the direction where Kaneki jumped, Hide was stopped by Kouki pulling hard on his rain jacket.

"Kouki?"

Kouki growled, frustrated at Hide, "safety" he cried and Hide switched his direction. If he was by himself, Hide would have followed after Kaneki. But since he was holding Kouki, Hide couldn't bring himself to bring the toddler to danger because of his parent's selfish wants.

Gripping Kouki tightly, Hide started a fast pace as he walked away from the sounds of battling and buildings being destroyed.

"Mommy!" Kouki shouted suddenly "the smell is back!" he struggled and started to hiss.

"Kouki-chan!" Hide stopped walking as he tried to look at Kouki.

Kouki suddenly stopped struggling and looked up in horror. Hide followed his gaze and froze at the sight of a building falling in their area. Unable to move his legs, Hide crouched and tucked Kouki close to his body.

The two closed their eyes and awaited for the impact. Feeling only a bit of debris hitting his check, Hide slowly opened his eyes.

Standing above him and Kouki, stood a familiar ghoul. His kagune looked like wings of blood coming out of his back. Standing up slowly, Hide observed his surroundings; the falling building was split into multiple pieces and the alley's entrance was blocked by the biggest piece of debris.

Making sure that Kouki was unharmed, Hide turned to face the tall stranger the two met before. "Thank you" he said breathlessly as Kouki sniffed.

"I didn't do it to save you" dark eyes stared at Kouki and Hide blocked the stranger's intense stare with his own body.

"Then you did it to save him" Hide commented.

The stranger ignored the statement and turned around, intent on walking away from Kouki and Hide.

Watching him jump up on the rock blocking the exit, Hide eye's narrowed as the stranger turned around to face the two. Kakugan flaring, the stranger made a statement: "'you are human".

Hide snorted, "obviously" he whispered sarcastically to himself. Kouki gave a tiny hiccupping giggle.

The male seemed to become miffed, "you are human-" he paused and stared at Kouki "-and he is not".

"You have a problem with that?" Hide asked, glaring at a ghoul that could probably kill him.

The ghoul remained quiet and titled his head.

"Do you have a name?" Hide asked as he adjusted his grip on the sniffling Kouki.

The ghoul scoffed, "shouldn't you give your own name first? That's the polite thing to do" he responded.

"Nagachika Hideyoshi" Hide said and looked at Kouki, "and this is Kaneki Kouki" Kouki stopped his sniffling and looked up questionably at Hide.

The ghoul made to leave.

"Hey! You jerk! Led by example and give us your name!" Hide shouted at the male.

Kouki nodded his head as he looked at the figure.

"Kirishima" Hide's eyes widen, "you don't deserve my first name, human" Kirishima hissed and jumped off the building debris and continued to hop into the distance.

Hide gaped and started to put the facts together in his head.

"Mommy?" Kouki's small voice snapped Hide out of his daze, "wrong?" Kouki asked in a whisper like voice.

"I think I just met a relative of someone I know" Hide answered absent mindedly as he stared at the direction Kirishima leapt to.

/

**A/N:**

**I wanna cry so badly. Have you ever written a story that you absolutely love and come back to the story the next day and find out that it has been deleted by a computer virus? I just had that happen to me and I feel like I wanna cry. Especially because I had to re-write this chapter and I feel like this second rewrite is horrible compared to the first. **

**Onto a different point, I think I'm going to make Ayato the baby daddy. Mainly because I want to stress the importance that family does not have to be linked by blood. The pairing is still going to be KaneHide though. **

**The hardest part about writing this chapter is Ayato. I haven't seen enough of his interactions with humans to get a handle of his personality, so I just winged it. For the record, Ayato is not interested in Hide, he is interested in Kouki. Because Kouki smells just like Kaneki, meaning Kouki smells like a half ghoul.**

**The monster of Frankenstein is actually referred to as monster in the original story. It was the doctor that was called Frankenstein. **


End file.
